Reflecting Time Through Japanese Microseasons, An Animated Documentary
An animated documentation of the 24 Solar Terms and 72 Microseasons in the Japanese lunisolar calendar. A record of a multi-generational family living in Chimata of Yoshino Town, this installation allows people to experience and play with 24 phenakistoscope animations, historically one of the oldest methods of filmmaking. Each of the animations correlate to spoken reflections on daily life across the 24 solar terms, as told by a family living in a traditional, centuries-old farmhouse.
Exhibition details: TBA
Artist
Katelyn Rebelo
Katelyn Rebelo is a documentary and experimental filmmaker whose work uses intentionally slow processes such as handcrafted animation, analog manipulation, and rhythms found in nature to explore personal stories that question systems of power. Her film “Mizuko” was supported by Tribeca Film Institute, and is now streaming on The Criterion Channel. The film was nominated for Best Documentary Short at the IDA Documentary Awards, won Best Documentary Short at the Atlanta Film Festival, and received special jury awards at SXSW and IDFA. From 2021 – 2022, she was a Jacob Burns Creative Culture Filmmaking Fellow. Most recently, her film “Through Sunless Ways” premiered at DOC NYC 2023, and “I Don’t Know If You Remember This” screened at Film Diary NYC 2024.
Collaborator
Kira Matsubara-Dane
Kira Matsubara-Dane is a Japanese American filmmaker and illustrator, currently based in rural Japan. She is best known for her short animated documentary “Mizuko.” The film received a nomination for the IDA Awards, Special Jury Awards at SXSW and IDFA, and Best Documentary Short at the Atlanta Film Festival. Kira was chosen as a fellow of the Sundance Ignite Program in 2019 and Berlinale Talents in 2023. She is a member of the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective and A-Doc. Outside of and informing her path as an artist, Kira is practicing and studying Tibetan Buddhism, while taking lessons in the Tibetan language.
